Sunday, January 17, 2016

A Visit to The Broad...

Saturday HB and I visited The Broad...the newest art museum in Los Angeles. (And just so you know, it's pronounced Brode, it rhymes with rode.) According to their visitor's guide "The Broad is a new contemporary art museum built by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad. The museum is home to nearly 2,000 works of art and holds one of the most prominent collections of postwar and contemporary art worldwide."The inaugural installation, which is what we saw, includes works by Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and so many others. The building itself is a work of art. The brochure states "Dubbed 'the veil and the vault,' the museum's design merges the two key programs of the building: gallery space and the collection storage that supports the museum's extensive lending activities." There are three floors; the first has art on display, the second floor is mostly storage with large windows so you can look in and see the racks and racks of art that isn't on display. The third floor is where most of the main exhibit is located. It's beautiful because the ceiling lets in so much light from outside but it's not direct. It just makes the entire third floor seem to be alive.

The museum is free to get in but you need reservations. A friend of mine got reservations and invited me and HB, along with another woman and her daughter.

Now here we go...

This was one of the first displays we saw after entering. We all agreed it looks very much like art journaling!

The piece above was very interesting...it has lots of bits and pieces glued on. I wish I had been able to get a close-up of it. The people who work at The Broad are very good about keeping everyone at least two feet from the art.

I liked this very much...all those geometric shapes. It was difficult to get a good photo of it though.

This was a HUGE piece of art. It covered almost three walls and was done by a Japanese artist. I like all the detail it has although some of the subject matter was a bit strange.

This is a close-up I managed to get...I like all the colors and bits and pieces. It was pretty amazing to see this.

I thought this was a photograph until I read the description! It's actually oil on canvas and is another huge painting. It took up one entire wall. The blurb said the artist painted this and then left the canvas on the floor of his studio and dribbled paint, walked on it, etc. before he framed it.

Some Andy Warhol...there were several.

Again, we all thought this looked a lot like someone's art journal except it was a large painting. This one has lots of texture...some of that is fabric added to the canvas. Truly mixed media!

The painting above and the one right below are both by Jasper Johns. I thought the one below was interesting and couldn't figure out why he had those extra panels on the right side...maybe just trying to make his canvas bigger??

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The two paintings above are also quite large. In fact, most of the art we saw was very large. There were only a few pieces that were smaller. I enjoyed the bright colors of these two. Norm's is sort of an iconic restaurant in the L.A. area and it makes a great painting!

This is at the center of the third floor and is by Jeff Koons...Tulips. You can see some of the ceiling and how the light pours into this level.

Another piece on the third floor. It was all small pieces put together.

I don't remember who did this piece but it might be Picasso. I was trying to get lots of photos and many times forgot to take a pic of the information!

This was one of my favorites...again, very large as you can see by the people standing beside it.

Here's a close up of this one...you can't tell but the very center is a tiny picture of a cabin!

We all enjoyed this massive table and chairs! You can see people walking around underneath it. I wanted to climb up onto those chairs and be Edith Ann!!

There were hundreds more that we saw but I thought these gave a good overall peek at this gorgeous museum. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos outside but there are some on the link I gave above. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful museum, and beautiful friends. What more could I want!

7 comments:

Well Janet thank you for this fantastic post... I hit up the link to read about some of the artists...so interesting! Very enjoyable read and post!! Sounds like a fabulous visit and wow so much inspiration with such a large variety!!I love the black and white too!! So many interesting works!! Some prettier than others to my eye. Thanks for taking the photos and sharing!! Enjoyed this immensely!! Great details too!! Now sending this link to a few friends! Take care!

When I saw this title of your post, I was taken aback for a minute -- we have an Eli Broad contemporary art museum here (aka "The Broad") and I thought, "What are you doing here in East Lansing and not calling me!" Fair 'nuf. I confess, I haven't been to our Broad. The exterior of the building distresses me so much I have a hard time making myself go in! And I'm not as much a fan of contemporary art -- at least in total, with no break. But Rick and I decided that this winter as we are forced to hunker down, we may as well have a visit and I bet I'll be delightfully surprised!

OMGosh. This reminds me of LACMA. The Broad looks to be a wonderful art experience to those who truly appreciate mixed media, collage (like the first photo you shared), and abstract art. There were certainly some incredible pieces and you chose great ones to photograph. Although it may not appeal to everyone, this is the kind of art museum I would LOVE to experience. I hope you will take us again, if you have the chance to visit. I am in total awe of the pieces they have collected. Wonderful art. I certainly was impressed.

Thanks for taking the time to visit me and for leaving a comment. I appreciate each and every comment and will answer any questions via email. Otherwise I will respond to your comments with comments of my own on your blog. I love the blogging community!!

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About Me

You may know me as jkbees. That's my online name on most sites. I’m 73 years young and doing what I love...making ART. I'm mostly self-taught but I enjoy taking online classes and workshops. I continue to learn new techniques and love to experiment in my art journals. I also knit and crochet.I hope you enjoy what I create and will stop by often.